She checked her pendant watch, grateful that she’d remembered to adjust it to local time at the train station.

The omnibus turned onto a bewildering series of winding, pretzel-like streets before pulling up the drive leading to the Haywire Grande Hotel. Judging by the weathered facade, the only thing grand about the hotel was its size.

Emily’s stomach knotted. Whatever fate had in store for her couldn’t be any worse than what she’d left behind. While the thought did nothing to lift her spirits, it did help calm her pounding heart. Refolding the letter, she returned it to her purse. Moments later, she stood in the blazing sun and waited for the driver to unload her luggage.

“Will that be all, ma’am?” he asked. His sudden politeness could only mean he expected a generous gratuity.

“Yes, thank you.” She handed him twice the number of coins she normally would, more out of guilt for commanding so much space than gratitude.

While a bellhop arranged her luggage onto a wooden handcart, she glanced again at her watch. In just two hours, she would be married to a man she had never set eyes on—a total stranger.

Now that she’d seen the town, it seemed that she was about to exchange one prison for another.

* * *

Chase McKnight paced the floor of the judge’s chambers. Where was she? His bride should have been here by now.

The dark wooden paneling and teak desk reflected his gloomy thoughts. Never had he imagined a wedding day as bleak and unsettling as this.

There were three men in the room, counting Chase. Judge Gray sat behind the desk, waiting to perform the wedding ceremony. Chase’s uncle occupied the single chair in front of the desk, ready to serve as a witness. With their dark suits and serious expressions, they could just as easily have been attending a funeral.

Chase wished to God he’d never agreed to this marriage. He’d met the bride-to-be but once, years ago when they were both in their early teens. Still, what choice did he have? What choice, for that matter, did the lady have?

Now a widow with three small children—two boys and a girl—she lived in the next county. He’d heard that she regularly attended church, was a hard worker, and had accepted her lot in life with grace and goodwill. If his memory served him right, she wasn’t that bad to look at either. But that wasn’t the point.

He glanced at his uncle. “Maybe she’s not comin’.” It would be disastrous if she didn’t show, but who could blame her? He was as much a stranger to her as she was to him, with a less-than-stellar reputation.

“Relax. She’ll be here,” his uncle said, though his drumming fingers belied the calmness of his voice. Uncle Baxter was a large, pompous man who resembled his brother—Chase’s father—in size, but not disposition. He was a hard-nosed businessman whose relentless ambition had driven more than one woman away. “She needs this marriage as much as you do.”